


Life, Liberty, and The Pursuit of Happiness

by souerrl



Category: Aldnoah.Zero (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Heartbreak, Heartwarming, M/M, Mentions of Torture and Abuse, No Smut, Sad, Sad with a Happy Ending, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Some Het, Suicidal Thoughts, het relationship reference, slaine gets the happy ending he deserves, some people get hurt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:42:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24976306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/souerrl/pseuds/souerrl
Summary: “Do you not know how to play?” He asked, watching the movements of his opponent like a hawk.“.... No.” Slaine finally looked up at the Ensign in front of him. “I do not.”Inaho let the silence control the atomosphere for a short moment before a small, yet noticeable, smile fell upon his face.“Then let me teach you.”
Relationships: Kaizuka Inaho & Slaine Troyard, Kaizuka Inaho/Slaine Troyard, Lemrina Vers Envers & Slaine Troyard
Kudos: 19





	Life, Liberty, and The Pursuit of Happiness

“Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

An idiotic phrase declaring the ideals that have been relentlessly sought for with heart and intent.

The phrase left a bitter taste in Slaine Troyard’s mouth. 

“What was that?” Inaho Kaizuka questioned the other in what he’d previously stated. Or rather.. more than a question it may have been part of an interrogation. Why was he here, anyways? To put pity unto Slaine? To make him suffer?.. What exactly was the truth here.

“Did you not hear me, Orange..” Slaine’s voice was low and quiet.. if you heard him you’d think he was actually dead.  
...  
And perhaps he was.  
Something inside of Slaine had died.  
Something important.

“.. No. That’s why I gave an inquiry.” Inaho’s eyes shifted downwards from Slaine’s face to the chessboard placed neatly on the table that stood between them.  
It wasn’t the only thing that came between the two, though.  
“It’s your move, Slaine Troyard.”

His eye twitched. Perhaps in agitation or perhaps it was a simple reaction to hearing his full name spoken by another person for once.  
Another person.  
A person.  
It was funny.. Hilarious, actually.  
Slaine barely felt like one, if he was still one at all.  
“......” He didn’t answer, or make a move on the chessboard. The only movements made were his eyes darting from his hands, that were clasped together, to the ground.  
Inaho looked back at Slaine, waiting for an answer rather than the deafening silence he let linger.

“Do you not know how to play?” He asked, watching the movements of his opponent like a hawk.  
“.... No.” Slaine finally looked up at the Ensign in front of him. “I do not.”  
Inaho let the silence control the atomosphere for a short moment before a small, yet noticeable, smile fell upon his face.  
“Then let me teach you.”

*

*

*

It had been two days since Inaho Kaizuka last saw Slaine Saazbaum-Troyard.  
He didn’t visit the former Count often, but it wasn’t as if he never visited at all.  
What were the reasons behind his visits, even?  
Was he still trying to fulfill the last wish of the (now) Empress, Asseylum Vers Allusia?  
Perhaps.  
Or perhaps he was outright bored and needed something interesting in his life, now that the war had been put to a halt.

The days he spent away from the prisoner of war weren’t excrutiating or heart-wrenching, to say the least.  
Why should they be? After all, he felt nothing towards the Bat.  
Not a twinge of guilt, pity, hatred, hope, love, or care..  
Inaho, frankly put, didn’t feel at all.

“Nao-kun—“ Inaho’s train of thought was interrupted by his sister hovering over him. “Are you hungry?”  
“.. Not particularly.”  
She smiled, sitting on the grass next to where he lay, setting a small snack on his chest.  
Instead of a snack, it was more like a homemade sandwich.  
This felt oddly.. familiar.  
Nostalgic, even.  
“Thank you, Yuki-nee.” He took hold of the sandwich and sat up, setting it free from its plastic confinement.  
Confinement.  
Set free.  
Is that would Slaine would want?  
To be free?  
To have liberty?  
Inaho stared at the sandwich, opening his mouth to speak and breaking the comforting silence between the two.  
“Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness...”  
“Hm?” His older sister had turned her head towards him in confusion. “Are you learning American History?.. why are you suddenly referencing something like that?”  
Inaho muttered quietly, not realizing what Yuki had just asked. “... So that’s what he said.”  
“He?”  
“What?.. oh. It’s nothing, Yuki-nee.” He brushed it off nonchalantly, finally taking a bite from the meal he’d been gifted.  
“Geez.. you’re as weird as usual, Nao-kun.” Yuki remarked, sighing as she looked back up at the blue sky.

*

*

*

“You seemed to have lost weight since we spoke last.” It was Inaho’s next visit to Slaine. Now three days after the one before. Or, more simply, one day after Inaho’s realization with Yuki.  
“How would you know.” Slaine scoffed, his gaze fixated on the ground.  
“These kinds of things are easy to tell. Even without an Analyctical Engine.”  
“.. It’s been two days.”  
“A person can gain or lose quite a bit of weight in two days.”  
That response didn’t necessarily render Slaine speechless. He spoke through his eyes. His solemn stare switched its placement from the floor to meet Inaho’s eye.  
“A person..” His voice was a bit more stern than it was three days ago. “.. I don’t deserve to be called that anymore.”  
“And why not?”  
He broke eye contact. “.. I’ve murdered.. stolen.. manipulated.. I’ve thrown away justified reasonings the same way people have thrown me away.” Slaine uttered that sentence fast, taking a harsh breath in before continuing his monologue: “.. I don’t deserve to live.”  
His voice was shaky, yet at the same time it stood firm.  
Inaho watched the frame of the other across from him. It was trembling from pent up emotions. Emotions that were trying to make its way out and explode.

“I think you do.” He replied, unsure why. “.. Though I don’t think I necessarily have a say in the matter. Do I, Slaine Troyard.” Blinking, he moved a chess piece and spoke with a calm and careful tone. “Your move. You do remember how to play, do you not?”

Slaine looked up at him with dreary eyes. He unclenched his shaky fists and positioned himself more comfortably in his chair. “Yes,” He replied with a nod to the question, “I do.”

*

*

*

The morning after their first official chess game, Inaho had brought the chessboard with him again in slight hopes of a rematch. It was for Slaine, who had quite obviously lost.  
But the prisoner had a different idea of ‘fun’ today.  
Inaho began arranging the set as Slaine glanced upwards at him, a mixture of confusion and distraught in his eyes.  
“We’re playing again?..”  
“Yes.”  
Inaho’s answer was calm and quick, you could tell he was dead-set on playing. Meanwhile, Slaine’s eyes had shifted from the Ensign’s face to the white bishop he’d just placed on the board.  
“.. Was one game not enough?.. You’ve already won, Kaizuka Inaho..” Subtle hints in his voice could signify that he wasn’t just talking about chess. He was talking about the war. The meaningless war that he’d extended for the sake of his own gain.  
.. No..  
Not his own gain..  
For the Princess.  
..  
There was a pause before Inaho gave a response to Slaine’s question.  
“I have won countless games.. You on the other hand,” He finished setting up all of the chess pieces. “Have lost only once.” Inaho let his eyes leave the board and land on Slaine’s figure. “.. That is, if my assumptions are correct.”  
Slaine didn’t give the other an answer, and only looked down, his body shaking.  
As always, Inaho had made the first move. He leaned back in his chair, showing a harmless demeanor, and spoke: “Your move, Slaine Troyard.”

A couple minutes passed since the game had started and Slaine didn’t dare make a move, let alone touch a chess piece. Inaho, however, didn’t question it or make a comment as to why.  
The bat, with hands clenched together, had looked up at the Ensign in front of him.  
“Have you heard from Princess.. Empress Asseylum?..”  
There it was.  
The Million-Dollar-Question.  
“Concerning you? No.”  
As per usual, a calm and quick reply was given.  
Slaine let his head hang back down, his body shaking more violently now as tears began to flood his eyelids, trying their best to fight their way out.  
Inaho took notice of his composure and silently began packing up the chess set. Once finished, he stood up and held it in his hands, pushing his chair back in.  
“We’ll pick this up tomorrow.” Walking away to the exit, he stopped in his tracks but didn’t look back as he opened his mouth. “The sky is nice today, Bat.” Leaving those as his last words, he walked out.

Slaine’s shoulders hunched then slumped, signifying a defeat in the battle with his emotions. They had erupted. Like a volcano on a hot Summer’s day.  
He cried.  
He cried loudly.  
Recklessly.  
Endlessly.  
Why must he stay alive still?  
For the Empress’s sake?  
Why must he give her more when not once has she given him something in return?  
He’s risked his life for her. Put himself in danger. Even put others in danger for her happiness.  
And what is the result?  
He’s been branded a traitor. A war lord. The villain in these grand schemes.  
The mastermind behind Asseylum’s Attempted assassination? Don’t make him laugh.  
How could he dare kill the one he so sought and fought for the hardest?  
How could he dare kill the one he loved so deeply and purely?  
How could he dare kill the one he lived and survived for?  
He did everything for the sake of Asseylum. Why must he offer more to her?  
Was it not enough?  
What more did she want?  
...  
Perhaps she wants him to suffer.  
To drown in his own guilt and despair.  
Or to live on freely and unshackled from the chains of torture.  
Freely?  
Who are they kidding.  
He’s as free as a caged bird.

**Author's Note:**

> I know I’m not the best writer so my nerves are acting but I also have great confidence in my abilites!! So bear with me on this one!


End file.
